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Selling Books Since 1973

Welcome to Island Books. We are the only independent bookstore proudly serving Mercer Island for over 40 years.

Our store has a special atmosphere, where booksellers remember who you are and the kind of books you read. We may not be big, but everything inside is hand-selected with care, including cards, gifts, games, toys, locally-made chocolates and most importantly, the titles we personally know and love. We wrap your presents with a bow and ship them for free anywhere in the United States.

Mercer Island is a great place for families and children, and Island Books reflects that with its magical children's section and playhouse. We host weekly morning storybook corners and monthly PJ story times. Every year we host book fairs for all the local schools and donate 20% of the proceeds. Countless children have grown up in our aisles and now bring their grandchildren.

We pride ourselves on being a community gathering place. Beside story times, our schedule is filled with monthly book clubs, author events, and more. You'll find cozy chairs, old typewriters, bulletin boards, and good friends around every corner. If you can't visit in person, browse our website. You can check out what we're reading and raving about, email us, sign up for our acclaimed blog and monthly eNewsletter, follow us on social media, and order books to be picked up at the store or mailed to your home.

A love for books, bookstores, and reading runs deep in our community, and anyone who claims these passions are dead hasn't spent enough time in our store. The conversations, the return customers, even the numbers demonstrate that the love affair will endure.

We look forward to seeing you!

Laurie Raisys
Owner and Bookseller

**A Note About Shipping and Returns

Our longtime customers know that we've always provided free shipping for the orders we take directly, but things are a little more complicated for web orders. The price of automation, you might say.

You can order online for in-store pickup—that's still free.

You can order online for shipment anywhere in the US. If your total is more than $15, ground shipping is free. If not, shipping charges will apply, depending on where your order is going, what's in it, and how fast you want it to get there.

If you're patient enough to contact us when the store is open by phone or email (and we'd love to hear from you) we're happy to waive the charges and send your books for free to any US address.

As for returns, we're happy to exchange or issue a refund on returned merchandise with your accompanying receipt, as long as the item is something we've sold within the last year. Web orders and other shipments must be physically returned to us before a credit will be made.

Due to the nature of eBooks, all sales of eBooks are final and nonrefundable.